January 2001

Customer Service -- An Old Wives' Tale

There is an old wives’ tale that has been circulating around customer service departments for years. In fact, it has grown into somewhat of a benchmark for companies who strive for ultimate customer satisfaction. Although supposedly true, I can’t attest to the absolute accuracy of the story, but it makes its point nonetheless. The story is this: An older gentleman enters a Nordstrom’s department store angrily demanding to "speak to someone." A young girl quickly volunteers to help him and is promptly confronted with a tirade about how the store misrepresented the tires he purchased, and how he planned on getting his money back and never shopping there again. The man was absolutely livid. The friendly, young sales clerk took his receipt and credit card, and processed the refund without hesitation; however, this did not stop the older man from continuing his outburst about how the store had taken advantage of him and how unhappy he was with their unprofessional behavior. The poor girl could not get a word in edgewise. A couple of minutes later she responded in a kind, warm voice, "the refund has been placed on your credit card sir. Now let’s try to figure out where you bought those tires." You see, Nordstrom’s doesn’t sell tires.

The point? You earn customers, and this salesperson just earned one for life. There was a time when customer service was the single most important objective. The customer was always right. Now, it seems hard to get good service even in places that have typically been service-oriented. Case in point, restaurants. When I pay $25.00 a head for a meal, I usually get decent service, and I should still get excellent service at $10.00 dollars a head, but that is not usually the case.

What does this have to do with high-end audio? Unfortunately, you probably know exactly how this relates. I have had more bad experiences in high-end audio stores than I’ve had good ones -- many more -- and I’m not alone. I have heard of countless examples of audio-store employees being rude, condescending, and just flat out ignoring people whom they do not feel are worthy of assistance. And it gets worse. A friend recently spent $1600 on a pair of surround speakers and a new receiver. The salesman proudly told him that they would be happy to help him set it up. However, once he had the component home, the store canceled their appointment with him. They even had the audacity to tell him that they had a huge sale that was simply more important than his set-up. What the store failed to realize was that his set-up (which would probably have required a couple of hours work) would have been a worthwhile investment, one that would have assured his repeat business. Unbelievable.

Yet, there are great dealers out there. I have had a few positive and encouraging experiences. One was with a gentleman who sent me an owner’s manual he found for a used component I had purchased from him. No big deal, but he discovered the manual almost a year after the sale. It would have been easy not to take the time to track down my address and send it, but he did. When I got the manual, I thought to myself, "for the dollar in postage, and the ten minutes time he spent finding my address, I will give him my business even if it does mean that I pay a little more." I have a suspicion that most people would feel this way.

The bottom line for me is this: If you find a dealer that will stand by their word, help you select the right gear, service it after the sale whether $500 or $5000, no matter how you looked when you walked into the store, you have a rare individual. You should covet that person and they will reward you with their experience, helpfulness, and true customer service skills. Pay them for their time and service, and expect only the best from them. As far as the bad dealers are concerned, the ones that are rude, arrogant, and too self-important to help you, don’t worry, on-line retailers will put them out of business.

...Jeff Fritz
jeff@hometheatersound.com

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